Every year since Terrell Davis became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, he has made it to the round of 25 modern-era semifinalists.

He has never made it to the finalist round of 15. He didn’t make it again this year as John Lynch was the only former Bronco who advanced to the final 15 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014. Eventually, only five modern-era candidates at most will be elected, along with the two senior candidates, Ray Guy and Claude Humphrey.

Karl Mecklenburg lined up at seven different positions in his Ring of Fame career with the Broncos. (The Denver Post

Could be a tough night’s sleep for four former Broncos who have a chance at the Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will narrows its list of 25 modern-era semifinalists to 15 finalists at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The four Broncos who are among the top 25 hoping to make the cut to 15: Running back Terrell Davis, safeties Steve Atwater and John Lynch and defensive end/linebacker Karl Mecklenburg.

There seems to finally be some momentum for Davis, who has been a top 25 semifinalist seven consecutive years but has never “made the room.” The 15 finalists are presented to the 46-voting member committee on the eve of the Super Bowl. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make the final 15 this year. The question is whether Lynch, Atwater or Mecklenburg will keep him company.

After the presentations, the 15 modern-era finalists are then cut to 10 and then 5. The final five must receive 80 percent of the final vote for election. There are also two senior candidates — punter Ray Guy and defensive end Claude Humphrey. They go right to the final vote where they also must receive 80 percent approval.

All of this happens on Feb. 1, the day before Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame senior committee has named former Raiders punter Ray Guy and Atlanta Falcons defensive end Claude Humphrey as its two nominees for the Class of 2014.

Senior committee nominations almost always are voted in, although don’t tell that to Humphrey. He was a senior committee nominee in 2009 and was wrongly denied by voters.

I’m very happy for Guy. He should have been in the Hall long ago. He should become the first punter elected into the Hall.

The shame with this announcement is once again former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar or others like cornerback Louis Wright were passed over again. They are in the senior committee pool after their 15-year term on the modern-era ballot elapsed.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.